An Oscar ain't enough for the "Mozart of Film Music." Among the truckloads of trophies lining his shelves, another honour will soon occupy pride of place. The Padma Bhushan!

A R Rehman earns the third highest civilian honour of India for his exemplary contribution to music. Incidentally, Rehman shares this honour with Ilayaraja, his mentor!

A visibly thrilled Rehman stated in a newspaper inter phew, "I'm overwhelmed that I have received the honour at the same time that Raja sir has got it. It is a great personal statement for me . He has played for my father Sekhar and I have played under Raja sir. It is a family thing for me."

Close encounters of the musical kind …

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Composers A.R. Rahman, who shone at the Oscars last year with his double golden statuette win, and Ilaiyaraaja have been honoured with the Padma Bhushan, the nation's third highest civilian award, on the eve of Republic Day.

Rahman, who started his career in 1992 with Mani Ratnam's Tamil film 'Roja', made his debut in Bollywood with the hit soundtrack in Ram Gopal Varma's blockbuster movie 'Rangeela'.

Some of his hit numbers are 'Chaiyyan Chaiyyan', 'Roobaroo', 'Tere bina', 'Jai ho' and 'Masakali' and 'Kabhi kabhi Aditi'.

In a career spanning almost two decades, Rahman who has his own music label called KM Music, achieved many milestones.

In 2008, Rahman scored the music of Danny Boyle's rags-to-riches drama 'Slumdog Millionaire' for which he won a Golden Globe. He also bagged two Oscars the same, becoming the first Indian citizen to do so.

Apart from the Oscars, Rahman has also been awarded with the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award, four National Film Awards and 13 Filmfare awards.

The 44-year-old musician has also been nominated for two Grammy Awards, the results of which will be announced Jan 31.

While Time magazine referred to him as the 'Mozart of Madras', in 2009, the magazine placed him in their 100 list of 'World's Most Influential People'.

Ilaiyaraaja has been a prominent composer in the southern film industry since 1976. He debuted with 'Annakkili' and is known for integrating Tamil folk lyric with Western music. He won the Indian National Film Award thrice for the movies - 'Sindhu Bhairavi', 'Rudraveena' and 'Saagara Sangamam.

Bollywood veteran Rekha, 55, has been conferred the Padma Shri, the fourth highest honour, after four decades in the Indian film industry.

The daughter of late southern star Gemini Ganesan, Rekha bagged overnight success with her debut film and went on to become India's sex symbol.

Rekha has acted in over 150 films and maintained versatility in films like 'Do Anjaane' (1976), 'Ghar' (1978), 'Muqaddar Ka Sikander' (1978), 'Khubsoorat' (1980), 'Silsila' (1981), 'Baseraa' (1981), 'Utsav' (1984), 'Khoon Bhari Maang' (1988), 'Ijaazat' (1988), 'Kama Sutra' (1996) and 'Zubeidaa' (2001), et al.

It was Muzaffar Ali's period drama 'Umrao Jaan' that catapulted Rekha to unprecedented success and even won her a National Award.

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Film: 'Suryakanthi'; Director: K.M. Chaithanya; Cast: Chetan, Regina, Nasser, Ganesh Yadav, Ramakrishna and Kishori Ballal; Music: Ilayaraja; Rating:**1/2

K.M. Chaithanya's second film 'Suryakanthi' had aroused a lot of expectations before its release because his debut venture 'Aa Dinagalu' had hit the jackpot. 'Suryakanthi', however, is a total commercial entertainer unlike his first movie.

During the pre-release publicity meets, Chaithanya had even urged people not judge his second film with the same yardstick as his first. But the audiences may nevertheless feel a wee bit let down.

'Suryakanthi' doesn't boast of any freshness despite being written by a literary personality like Narayana Swamy. The story is old and surprisingly even the narration lacks novelty. While Chaithanya's 'Aa Dinagalu' had great dialogues, the punch is missing in 'Suryakanthi'.

The movie's highpoint is the visual splendour of the outdoor shoots. The songs and action scenes shot in Uzbekisthan, Uttarakhand and Goa are a visual treat. Maestro Ilayaraja has done splendid work in the background music front. Two songs - 'Edheya Baagilu Thattadhe' and 'Mouni Naanu' are top class.

The story revolves around Rohith, a contract killer employed by an international don called Stalin. And Rohith is being tracked by many Stalin's rivals who want to kill him.

Meanwhile, Surya is the CEO of a big corporate firm in Bangalore and in a mix-up at the airport, Stalin's rivals kill him instead of their target Rohith.

Now the company officials take Rohith to their firm and introduce him as Surya. The head of the business organisation is impressed with Rohith doubling up Surya and wants his daughter Kanthi to marry him.

But Kanthi dislikes Rohith and goes to her grandfather's place in Belgaum. Rohith follows her as per his boss' instructions. In the end, the criminals gang up against Rohith, who finishes each one of them and unites with his lover.

Chetan has to improve his acting abilities. But newcomer Regina impresses with her bubbly expressions. She has the charm and talent to take up good roles.

Nasser has, however, overacted. Ramakrishna and Kishori Ballal have been typecast in their roles.

While the outdoor locales and good, the lighting pattern in the interior sequences does not gel with the mood of the film. Ilayaraja scores a perfect ten for his music.

Its negative elements notwithstanding, Chaithanya's 'Suryakanthi' is worth a watch for Ilayaraja's work and the superb and scenic outdoor shoots.

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